Lynn Arave - Nov. 27, 2008

The 40 years of labor it took to construct the Salt Lake Temple — much of it without the help of machines — have come to symbolize the extreme dedication, sacrifice, self-reliance and faith that early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah possessed. However, the outside (like the inside) of the iconic structure contains a wealth of symbols and representations.

“Notable among all LDS temples, the Salt Lake Temple includes significant symbolism in its architecture,” the Encyclopedia of Mormonism states.

The Salt Lake Temple “stands as an isolated mass of the everlasting hills. ? As nearly as any work of man may so do. It suggests duration,” Elder James E. Talmage wrote in “The House of the Lord.”

While it would be improper to discuss the inside of the sacred temple’s symbolism, the outside of the sacred edifice has been publicly written about over the years — because anyone can view that aspect.

Here’s a look at highlights of the temple’s extensive outside symbolism.

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Tags: Mormons

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 11:15 pm and is filed under Symbolism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.